Tube cleaning



Feb. 21, 1956 c. B. FLETCHER TUBE CLEANING Filed July 2, 1953 INVENTOR Clarence B PZeZc/zer m w W\ w Q MN EW gm wmwxumw United States Patent Q TUBE CLEANING Clarence B. Pletcher, Buchanan, Mich.

Application July 2, 1953, Serial No. 365,609

4 Claims. (Cl. 104.3)

This invention relates to tube cleaning and more particularly to an apparatus for cleaning sewer pipes.

After a period of use, sewer pipes ordinarily become partially blocked by an accumulation of roots, grass, mud, and other foreign matter adhering to the walls thereof. Consequently, it is necessary to remove this foreign material, and it is the primary object of this invention to effect such removal.

The cutter assembly is of novel construction and comprises a motor, a plurality of cutter blades driven by the motor, and a plurality of spring runners attached to the motor casing and engaging the wall of the sewer pipe to position the cutter assembly along the axis of the sewer pipe.

In one embodiment, the spring runners on the motor casing of the cutter assembly are provided with propellers for engaging the wall of the sewer pipe to move the cutter assembly along the sewer pipe. This embodiment is especially desirable for use in sewers which are so blocked by foreign material that it is diflicult to pass a cable through the sewer by which the cutter assembly may be pulled along.

A better understanding of the invention will be obtained from the detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic sectional elevation of a typical sewer section with the apparatus according to one embodiment of this invention associated therewith; and

Fig. 2 is a detail side elevation of a modified form of cutter assembly according to this invention.

Referring to Fig. l, the numeral 1 designates the surface of a city street. Passing along below the street, in conventional manner, is a sewer pipe or tube 2. Manholes, such as those designated by the numerals 3 and 4, are provided along the length of the sewer pipe 2 to connect the pipe with the surface of the street 1. After a period of use, a quantity of foreign material 5, such as that diagrammatically indicated in Fig. 1, collects in the sewer pipe 2 and obstructs the flow of liquids therethrough. Furthermore, a large portion of this material is organic matter which tends to decay and give off objectionable odors.

According to the embodiment of this invention shown in Fig. l, a cutter assembly, designated generally by the numeral 10, is pulled through the sewer pipe 2 from the manhole 4 to the manhole 3 by means of a cable 11 which extends out of the manhole 3 for connection to such power means as may be available. If necessary, the cable 11 may be pulled manually. Another cable 12 is attached to the cutter assembly and extends out of the manhole 4 to permit withdrawal of the cutter assembly in the event that it should be unable to cut its way through the foreign material collected in the sewer pipe. Pulleys 50 and 51, carried by frames 52 and 53, are positioned, respectively, in the manholes 3 and 4 to guide the cables 11 and 12. This is necessary in order to prevent undue abraision of the cables. The frames 52 e 2,735,122 Patented Feb. 21, 1956 and 53 have portions 54 and 55, respectively, which rest upon and are supported by the surface of the street 1.

The cutter assembly 10 comprises a motor, which may be electric, pneumatic or hydraulic, enclosed by a casing 13. The numeral 60 represents an electric cord or other suitable conduit for supplying power to' operate the motor. At the forward end of the motor, a plurality of cutter blades 14 are made fast to the motor shaft 15 by suitable means (not shown). Four of the cutter blades 14 have been illustrated, but it will be understood that any suitable number may be used. Forwardly of the cutter blades 14, a swivel 16 is connected to the motor shaft 15. An eye splice 17 or other suitable means is used to connect the cable 11 to the swivel 16.

A stud 18 projects rearwardly from the motor casing 13 and carries another swivel 19 on its rear end to facilitate the attachment of the cable 12. A plurality of spring runners 20 are connected, as by welding, at their ends to the motor casing 13. The outwardly bowed intermediate portions 21 of the spring runners 20 extend radially for such a distance that they must be flexed in order to be accommodated by the sewer pipe 2. Consequently, these runners will firmly engage the walls of the sewer pipe to hold the motor in the center of the sewer and also to hold the motor from turning bodily.

As the assembly 10 passes along the sewer pipe 2, the revolving cutter blades 14 will remove the foreign material from the walls of the sewer pipe and cut up the material into smaller pieces, such as diagrammatically indicated by the numeral 30 in Fig. 1 of the drawings. Whenever the blades 14 are stopped, as sometimes happens when roots are being cut, the power supply through conduit 6%) may be altered to reverse the motor. The cutter blades 14 will then revolve in the opposite direction to clear themselves. The cut up foreign material will pass along the outside of the motor casing 13 to the rear of the cutter assembly. In order to prevent passage of this foreign material back into a previously cleaned section of the sewer, such as section 31, a sewer stop 32 is positioned below the manhole 4.

A vacuum hose 33, having an eye 34 near the end thereof, is connected by a link 35 to the swivel 19 attached to the rear end of the cutter assembly 10. The other end of the vacuum hose 33 is connected to a suitable suction pump 36 mounted on a truck 37 or other suitable vehicle. The foreign material 30, together with the sewer liquids, is picked up by the hose 33, passes through the suction pump 36 and is delivered through a hose 33 to a settling tank 39, also carried by the truck 37. The settling tank 39 comprises a plurality of compartments 4t), 41 and 42. The hose 38 discharges into the compartment 40 and a portion of the solid matter settles out in this compartment. The liquids and another portion of the solid matter overflow from the compartment 49 into the compartment 41 where a similar settling action takes place. The overflow from compartment 41 passes to the compartment 42 and the liquids from the compartment 42 pass by way of a hose 43 down into the previously cleaned sewer section 31. The collected solids may be disposed of as desired.

Referring now to the modified form of cutter assembly ltla shown in Fig. 2, it will be seen that the parts which are identical with parts of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 bear the same reference numerals and that the parts which are modified slightly bear the same numerals but have the sufiix 11 applied thereto.

The outwardly bowed central portions 21a of the spring runners 26a are considerably wider than the portions 21 of the runners 20 of the embodiment shown in Fig. l, and they have slots 70 therein. Fixedly mounted in each of the slots 70 is a small housing 72, which encloses an electric motor and reduction gearing. A

screw propeller 74 operatively connected with the reduction gearing extends out of the housing 72 to engage the wall of the sewer pipe. As shown with some exaggeration in Fig. 2, the axis of each screw propeller 74 is inclined with respect to. the axis of the cutter assernbly 19a when the assembly is not in use. When, however, the cutter assembly a is positioned in a sewer pipe, the spring runners 2% will be deflected and the screw propeller 74 will engage the wall of the sewer pipe over a substantial length.

Power for the little motors in the housings 72 may be supplied by wires leading from the inside of the main motor casing 13 out through passages in the runners 2811. This arrangement is advantageous in that no additional exposed cables need be used. Above ground control for the propeller motors may be provided by wires located inside the main power cable 60 and leading to a suitable control station.

It will be apparent that the embodiment shown in Fig. 2 has a potential field of utility which is wider than that of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1. in situations where it is impossible to pass a cable, such as cable 11 in Fig. 1, from manhole to manhole through the sewer pipe to be cleaned, the cutter assembly 10 of Fig. 1 cannot be used. However, the cutter assembly 10a of Fig. 2 can be located in the sewer pipe, and when its screw propellers 74 are actuated, the assembly will move along the sewer pipe under its own power.

Since various modifications will readily occur to persons skilled in the art, it is understood that the scope of this invention is to be ascertained from the following claims rather than from the foregoing detailed description.

1 claim:

1. A device adapted to axially move through a pipe comprising an elongated casing of a diameter smaller than the diameter of the pipe to be cleaned, a plurality of runners of spring material extending axially of the casing and disposed equidistantly around the circumference thereof, each of said runners including ends fixedly secured to the casing and having a portion intermediate said ends bowed outwardly from said casing, at least one drive means to move said device axially of said pipe, said drive means mounted on the intermediate portion of one of said runners, and extending outwardly at a slight angle to said runner and into engagement with V the inner wall of said pipe, and means for energizing said drive means.

2. The combination in accordance With claim 1 wherein each of said runners is provided with one of said drive means.

3. The combination in accordance with claim 2 wherein each of said drive means comprises a motor mounted on its associated runner, a screw propeller extending into engagement with the inner wall of said pipe, said motor rotating said screw propeller to move said device axially through said pipe.

4. The combination in accordance with claim 1 further comprising a motor mounted in said casing, a cutter to dislodge and cut up foreign. material in said pipe, said cutter extending axially of said casing and of a size to permit its passage through the pipe and coupled to I the shaft of said motor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

